Housing Specialist Job Description

A Postgraduate Degree in Housing Studies

You can manage housing and related services for housing associations, local authorities, charities and private sector organizations. Your role will involve managing a designated patch of housing and keeping in regular contact with tenants, looking after rental income and dealing with repairs and neighbour nuisance issues. It's common to work with people with disabilities or homeless.

You may have line management responsibility for a team of housing officers, rent arrears staff and tenancy support officers. You will work Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. Shift work is standard if you work in a supported housing project and you have to attend evening meetings with tenants or residents.

Flexible hours, job sharing and career breaks are offered by many employers. Entry without a degree is possible. Larger housing associations are more likely to recruit graduates with personal qualities and experience than smaller housing associations.

Pre-entry experience in housing or customer service is important for some posts. Gaining experience in tenants' associations, housing association committees or in similar community roles is useful, as is vacation or voluntary work with local authority housing departments or housing associations. If you get a place on a graduate scheme, you will gain experience in a range of housing departments and may be given support to get a professional qualification accredited by CIH.

Try to get support from your employer in studying for a professional qualification. If you want to become a fully chartered member of CIH, you can study for a postgraduate degree such as the Masters degree in Housing Studies or the Postgraduate degree in Sociology. You can progress by focusing on a certain area, such as homelessness assessment, anti-social behavior, special needs housing, tenant support and liaison, allocations, rent accounts or urban renewal and regeneration.

The Salary of a Housing Specialist

Housing specialists conduct an eligibility assessment for each client. They teach clients how to resolve issues with their landlords and how to be a tenant. They reach out to property owners and local resources to increase their inventory of housing.

They help clients with limited financial means to find decent housing. Maintaining records is a key responsibility. Some employers require a minimum of a high school degree and a minimum of one or more years of relevant work experience in order to hire.

An associate degree is preferred by other employers. If the housing specialist can demonstrate the skills required for the job, then a combination of education and experience is acceptable. According to Glassdoor.com, the average annual salary for housing specialists is between $37,000 and $66,878.

Housing Specialist Resume Examples

Housing Specialists help their clients find and keep affordable housing. They work with vulnerable or underserved clients and perform duties such assessing client eligibility, finding solutions for low income clients, updating records, and reporting to government agencies. A well-written resume sample for Housing Specialist shows that strong communication and networking skills are important.

On a Housing Specialist example resume, social services training is often seen. Taking ownership of the housing process for large scale sporting events and professional conferences on multiple accounts allowed us to manage the full scope of housing services. As liaison between Housing Authority and Public Housing and Section 8 residents, I was accountable for reviewing, researching, and resolving customer concerns.

Field calls ensured the resolution of maintenance, safety and security issues for 100 units. Conduct initial, annual, special and vaccum unit inspections for the Section 8 and related assisted housing programs, ensure proper condition of units, develop service quality improvement initiatives for both contract and private facilities, and implement and monitor outcomes. Quality control inspections are conducted for SEMAP.